DEEP PURPLE's ROGER GLOVER: Having All Former And Current Members Perform At ROCK HALL 'Would Be A Nightmare'

September 1, 2014

DEEP PURPLE bassist Roger Glover was interviewed on a recent edition of the weekly two-hour classic hard rock and metal show "Noize In The Attic" (web site). You can now listen to the program using the widget below. (Note: The Glover interview begins around the 32-minute mark.) A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether DEEP PURPLE would consider performing the entire "Perfect Strangers" album live to celebrate the LP's 30th anniversary:

"No. We did it once; we did it with 'Machine Head' some years ago. It was an American tour; we didn't do it anywhere else. But it kind of reinforces that 'classic rock' chain around our necks, which we don't get in the rest of the world, it's only in America. 'Cause radio deems that you are that, and that's that. In the rest of the world, we don't have that moniker."

On whether he still enjoys performing the DEEP PURPLE classics like "Smoke On The Water":

"Absolutely. First of all, we don't do an act; we're not some kind of carnival act. It's musicians playing music. It's always a different interpretation slightly every night. And we know people enjoy it, and we enjoy it. I think if we did all new material, we'd… I don't know what would happen, actually. I don't know. But we enjoy playing it anyway. As [current DEEP PURPLE guitarist] Steve Morse once said, 'If 'Smoke On The Water' was a button you could press that made the audience go nuts, you'd wanna press it.'"

On whether he misses former DEEP PURPLE guitarist Ritchie Blackmore:

"Yeah, we were friends. Yeah. I mean, 'miss' maybe isn't the right word, but certainly they're not all bad feelings. Some of the best and worst things happened to me because of Ritchie, but at least there were the best. He's a wonderful, wonderful guitarist, writer, character… It's not all doom and gloom. We got on really well for years. You know, that's him. I'm happy he's happy."

On whether he would be open to having all the former DEEP PURPLE members up on stage at the band's eventual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony:

"No. No. That would be a nightmare, in my humble opinion. We're kind of ambivalent about [the Hall Of Fame]; we don't care about it that much. If they do [induct us], then they're at least 20 years too late as far as I'm concerned. They should have done it when [former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist] Jon [Lord] was still alive when it probably would have had a bit more meaning. Yeah, we were never that fashionable a band. In fact, one of the jurors [was quoted as saying] that DEEP PURPLE are just one-hit wonders. It's also an American institution, it's not a world institution, so if we do or if we don't, it's actually no big deal to us. But if we do, and we do decide to accept it — which, again, is up in the air; we might just say, 'Forget it.' It would mean more for the fans and for the family, who wanna be proud of us. And I think Ian Gillan [DEEP PURPLE singer] and I differ slightly. He says Steve's been in the band 20 years… But I think Ritchie deserves to be there. [The right] thing, if we ever do it, would be to have both of them there, if that’s possible. What's the reason we're there? The reason we're there is because of what happened in the early '70s. And just having everyone on stage is gonna be a bit of a mess. I don't know. I don't have the answer to that, really.

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